The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), on Friday, said that President Bola Tinubu has approved the continuation of the Tax Credit Scheme.
The development followed a closed-door meeting between the Executive Chairman of the FIRS, Zacch Adedeji, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, and the Chief Financial Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Umar Ajiya, to discuss the tax credit agreement issued by the previous administration.
This was made known in a statement issued on the FIRS X handle on Friday.
Dateline Nigeria reports that the FIRS chairman Adedeji had on Wednesday said that the N2.59 trillion Tax Credit Scheme introduced by the Muhammadu Buhari administration in 2021 was not working and called for its discontinuation.
According to the statement, NNPCL road infrastructure projects that have started will not be expanded but will continue, while all non-performing contracts will be terminated promptly and re-awarded immediately.
“A memo agreed upon by the FIRS, NNPCL and the Ministry of Works shall be written and sent to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the N2.73 trillion funding gap on the road infrastructure project and channelled through the National Assembly for approval.
“In the review process, the going rate for contracts shall be agreed upon by the contractors or otherwise have their contracts subject to termination.
“The FIRS, NNPCL and the Ministry of Works agreed that it is important that there be synergy amongst agencies and organisations to enable the fulfilment of the mandate of each organisation, agency, ministry and overall key into the mandate of the present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” it added.
The chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue, Adedeji, had, while appearing before the House of Representatives, said the scheme violated the extant law in the country, noting that companies were not supposed to use their tax to directly fund construction.
However, Umahi, after a meeting with the FIRS boss on Friday, said the President approved the continuity of the scheme.
